Paleo Cashew Cocoa Shortbread Cookies (vegan, gluten free)

One of the funny quirks of being a gluten free grown up who aspires to buck the system by not buying processed snacks and sweets and also a human who wants cookies now is that there really is no middle ground. The options are: 1. Make freezer cookies. Ok, that's cool. But that's kind of too healthy to be a real cookie. 2. Buy some Pamela's fig cookies. I'm always down for a package of overpriced jam-filled cookies but is that sort of selling out? (Yes I really think this way.) 3. Find a gluten free cookie recipe that is pretty unfussy and tastes like store-bought.

I think I figured out how to do option # 3.

And it's this recipe. The fussiest thing about it is that you have to cool the dough in the freezer or fridge. Or your cookies will become a massive melted pile of cookie all melded into one. I know, that doesn't actually sound all that bad. But it is. It's a crumbly mess and it's pretty hard to repurpose as something else.

There's some waiting involved. My inner child is stamping her foot. I'm snacking on nuts and chocolate chips and watching Brooklyn Nine Nine while the oven preheats. Generally I just want to whip up some cookie dough and stick it in the oven and WHAM BAM I've got some cookies. But if you want shortbread -- and you know when and if the craving hits you -- there's a process involved. And this is probably the simplest shortbread process I've ever experienced. The payoff is big. Ok, actually the cookies are kind of cute and small. But there's a lot of them so it feels like you just baked yourself a bunch of silver dollars.

This recipe is only slightly adapted from the genius Julia of The Roasted Root. It cannot be stressed enough how much I have dreaded any and all gluten free cookie recipe that included the descriptor "shortbread" -- but that's before I made these cookies. I love them. A friend of mine thought that they were a fancy little treat I had bought from a Whole Foods bakery or indie hipster brand. And he seemed pretty shocked that they had just come out of my oven. He stressed heavily that he meant that in the best way. I think that makes these a winner! I'm going to make more today because they barely lasted a day in my house. I needs them.

Paleo Cashew Cocoa Shortbread Cookies

Recipe Type: Paleo

Author: Renee Shuman (Will Frolic for Food)

Prep time: 40 mins

Cook time: 15 mins

Total time: 55 mins

Serves: 3.5 dozen

This recipe, adapted from [url href="http://www.theroastedroot.net/maple-pecan-gluten-free-shortbread-paleo/"]The Roasted Root[/url], is lightly sweet and perfect for regular snacking with a cup of spiced tea or black coffee.

Ingredients

2 cups fine almond flour

1/2 cup chopped cashews

1/4 cup unsweet cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

pinch sea salt

1/4 cup honey (or agave if vegan)

1/2 cup coconut oil or ghee, melted and cooled to room temperature

1 teaspoon dark rum

Instructions

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper -- or grease the baking sheets with a light coating of coconut oil. Set aside.